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As a little girl in Poland, Stasia Nawrocki often spent summers in the country with her family.

In the mornings, when she awoke, Stasia would lie in bed with her eyes tightly closed, and listen gratefully for the sounds that told her where she was - the deep lowing of the cows, chickens softly clucking, birds calling.

These days, at her Pigeon Lake cottage, Stasia recaptures those moments of morning discovery, though the sounds of livestock have been replaced by a gentle lapping of waves amid a symphony of birdsong.

Now retired, her beloved Dansk store a finished chapter in her life, Stasia and husband Bill Lepatski have the time to really enjoy cottage life, where previously the busy demands of running a successful business had only afforded them brief escapes.

Built in 1999, the cottage has many features of a structure built a century ago.

"I wanted it to look like it had always been there," says Stasia. Indeed the high gables, wide overhanging roof, central chimney and dormers would have been familiar architectural details in country manor homes of Poland at the turn of the 20th century.

What completes this temporal sleight of hand is the care taken to preserve about a dozen mature spruce trees that were on the property, magnificent specimens that offer privacy and create a verdant canopy around the cottage.

The original one-room cabin on lakefront property that was purchased in 1976 had no running water and was heated only by a central fireplace.

The previous owner raised three children in that cabin, marvels Stasia. Over the years, additions were built, but Stasia had a dream to create a year-round dwelling that recalled her happy memories of summers in Poland.

"As a child, I lived for the summer, I lived for the country. I have always loved nature," Stasia says. "That was the dream."

Stasia and Bill approached architect Peter Leighsmith armed with a thick folder of clippings and photos showing details they wanted incorporated into the home.

"He was a pleasure to work with and very intuitive to our needs," Stasia says. "He asked all the right questions."

One of the must-haves was that the walls be thick enough to afford generous windowsills typical of European country homes. But unlike those homes of old, the Pigeon Lake cottage is flooded with light, streaming in from skylights and banks of windows taking full advantage of the expansive lakefront.

The cottage is surprisingly open inside, with rooms that flow and share the light.

A sunroom with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, and the best view of the lake, merges into the dining area while offering a quiet, well-lit place to read.

Using exterior mullions, the windows resemble an old-fashioned assembly of small panes, but much more energy-efficient, of course.

A massive fireplace separates the dining area from the living room, which is open to the second storey. Skylights ensure the space is bright and airy.

A deep ledge constructed where the wall meets the roofline features a forest of stylized trees, up-lit in a whimsical homage to the forested setting of the property.

Upstairs is an open loft with more alcoves in which to play or sew or read. This, too, is a departure from traditional country homes in Europe, where the upper rooms would all be enclosed, Stasia says.

The second floor is also home to the master suite (the other two bedrooms are on the main floor).

A cosy fireplace takes up one corner of the bedroom. There is a walkout balcony overlooking the lake and a quaint, though spacious ensuite, with shower, claw-foot tub and a charming vanity fashioned by Bill from hand-lathed posts.

As much as Stasia and Bill wanted the home to reflect the past, they also wanted comfort and modern amenities, so if you look hard enough, you'll find evidence of a central vacuum system, dishwasher and high-efficiency furnace.

One of Stasia's favourite indulgences is a programmable thermostat.

"I can dial it up with my cell-phone before we leave the city, so it's nice and warm when we get there."

The cottage took just over a year to complete. As with recent renovations to their home in Edmonton, much of the inside finishing was done by Bill, including the floors, window details and texturing of the walls for the look of European antiquity.

But the cottage is very unlike their stylish, contemporary city home.

"We are never one person," Stasia explains. "There is this other part of me who collects old Polish plates, antiques and wood carvings that would not fit if I tried to put them in our (Edmonton) home. I'm happy to express this other part of me here."

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the kitchen, which features the graceful lines of a country-style wooden table, chairs and hutch, which were shipped here from Poland.

It was made in a "specific mountain region known for this authentic craftsmanship," Stasia says.

Even the state-of-the-art refrigerator is covered in panelling, so as not to break the spell.

A second chimney in the corner awaits future renovations to include an authentic wood-burning oven.

Everywhere throughout the cottage, along deep windowsills and in the hollows created by dramatic rooflines, are vignettes of collectibles carefully placed to tell the stories of their ancestors.

There's grandma's treadle sewing machine, old skates, a child's sleigh, and one of Stasia's favourites, a ceramic bowl with inner ridges for mashing ingredients, that heralds from a time long before blenders or even electric mixers were conceived.

These symbols of the past bring texture and colour to the interiors, as they gently stir summer reveries of a childhood in Poland.

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